In her past life, many things were hidden in mists, and Mo Xuetong was the most important tragic person. There were countless people involved in it. Sometimes all those people seemed to have something to do with her, and sometimes none of them seemed to have anything to do with her. On the surface, Auntie Fang and Mo Xuemin were the ones who had caused her tragedy.
But how many things had happened behind the scenes? And how many people were involved in it?
As for the girl who died in the hands of her elder sister born of a concubine in the backyard, what a turbulent situation she once had faced beneath such a surface!
Fortunately, she would no longer grin and bear it, nor would she return good for evil. She would no longer allow herself to be blinded, and instead, she saw the truth through the phenomenon. Step by step, she would carefully deal with restless people and evil things.
Even though Mo Xuetong only had a few memories of Auntie Qing in her past life, that didn’t conflict with her being the key to something. Auntie Qing suddenly paid special attention to Mo Yufeng. Then, Mo Yufeng had “behaved good” for a while before he sneaked out.
Compared with Auntie Qing, a concubine who was not favored and could only stay in the inner courtyard, Mo Yufeng indeed had a great advantage. At least until now, Mo Yufeng was still the only son of his father. No matter whether his father cared about him or not, this fact could not be changed. That was to say, Mo Yufeng’s big mistake would be connected to his father.
As father and son, they were related by blood. There were some things that could not be explained clearly once they were related to it.
Mo Xuetong stunned for a moment, and could not help but feel a chill in her heart.
“Tong’er, what’s wrong?” Mo Huawen asked as he noticed that she looked weird.
Mo Xuetong touched her head as she explained vaguely, “Father, it’s nothing. I’m just a little tired.”
“Do you want to have a rest in the garden? There is still some time before lunch,” Mo Huawen stated with concern. His daughter had always been in poor health and he was very worried.
“Alright, Father. I’ll go to the Qingwei Garden to have a rest first.” Mo Xuetong nodded and stood up. She had wanted to go directly to the Peony Garden, but she changed her mind at this time. After saying goodbye to Mo Huawen, she brought people to the Qingwei Garden. It was rare for her to come here, so it would be good for her to have lunch with her father.
“Mo Yu, did you have a good relationship with Auntie Qing’s close maidservant?” Mo Xuetong asked Mo Yu who was standing beside her after thinking for a moment.
In the past, Mo Yu was very active in the manor. She had a smooth tongue and had a good relationship with some of the maidservants in the manor.
“My Lady, you must be referring to Nuanxiang. The two of us are indeed on good terms. She is my distant relation. Furthermore, we entered the manor in the same year. Our relationship is naturally a little different from others.” Hearing Mo Xuetong’s question, Mo Yu immediately understood and answered. “My Lady, do you want me to go and take a look at Nuanxiang and have a chat with her?”
Mo Xuetong burst into laughter when she saw how smart Mo Yu was. She nodded and asked, “Do you want to have a chat with her?”
“Yes. We haven’t seen each other for a long time. We used to have such a good relationship. Now that we could only meet occasionally, we have to have a chat.” Mo Yu nodded in a serious manner. It was so rare to see her looking serious that Mo Lan and the others could not help but scold her with a smile.
“Mo Lan, get someone to send the satin to Auntie Qing and Auntie Mo,” Mo Xuetong ordered with a smile.
“Yes, I will arrange it right away. Mo Yu will send it to Auntie Qing and I will send it to Auntie Mo.” Mo Lan had already come up with a solution for Mo Xuetong. She was not familiar with Auntie Mo’s maidservant, but with Auntie Mo. Mo Lan had interacted with Auntie Mo often when they returned to the capital.
Back then, Auntie Fang was in charge of the inner courtyard. Auntie Mo, who did not have a child, led a bad life. Furthermore, she was younger and more beautiful than Auntie Fang. As a result, she was bullied by Auntie Fang. Mo Huawen was not a womanizing man. Auntie Mo had a pretty tough time.
After Mo Xuetong returned, even though she was unfavored, she had at least gained the upper hand in status. As such, Auntie Mo tried to butter up to her. In this way, her relationship with Mo Lan was not bad. After that, when Mo Xuetong took charge of the manor affairs, she took good care of Auntie Mo.
On the one hand, Mo Lan went there for the same purpose as Mo Yu—to ask Auntie Mo about Auntie Qing; on the other hand, she had to stop Auntie Mo by chatting with her so that she wouldn’t encounter Auntie Qing when she went to express her gratitude to Mo Xuetong and hinder Mo Xuetong from talking to Auntie Qing.
Mo Xuetong was Consort Xuan, so the concubines in the manor would definitely come and thank her after they took her gift!
As expected, just after Mo Yu and Mo Lan went out for a while, Auntie Qing brought her maidservants and Mo Yu to thank Mo Xuetong.
A maidservant lifted the curtains and Auntie Qing walked in with a grin. Mo Xuetong had seen her once since what happened to Mo Xueqiong last time. This was the first time they had seen each other for a long time ago.
Mo Xuetong’s eyes fell on her smiling face, on the two hairpins beside her temples, and then on the same series of opal earrings hanging under her ears. Her light pink satin clothes outlined her beautiful figure. Auntie Qing was even fatter than the last time she saw her, and she looked good.
“Greetings, My Lady.” Auntie Qing walked forward with a smile and curtsied to Mo Xuetong respectfully. “Many thanks for your gift, My Lady.”
“Auntie Qing, take a seat!” There was a faint smile on Mo Xuetong’s lips as she looked away thoughtfully. How could a concubine who had lost her only daughter live such a comfortable life? She was so fit and happy.
Auntie Qing sat down and a maidservant served tea. Mo Xuetong took a sip of tea and put down the teacup before she asked with a smile, “Fourth Sister has been gone for some time. Auntie Qing, have you gone to visit her grave?”
In the end, Mo Xueqiong was buried in the place of King Yan’s Manor as King Yan’s second consort. Mo Xuetong had sent someone to visit her grave a few days ago, and it was said that the place was so bare that there was not even a single person to visit. There was no trace of ash on the ground. The grave guard also said that no one had come to visit her grave.
Auntie Qing did not expect Mo Xuetong to talk about Mo Xueqiong as soon as she came. The smile on her face froze as she was a little stunned. However, her expression immediately changed and she looked a little sad. “My Lady, I… I did not go to visit Qiong’er’s grave. As soon as I saw her grave, my heart hurt… That’s why I did not dare to go to visit her grave!”
It was obvious whether she had been there or not. Auntie Qing knew that she couldn’t hide it from others.
“Auntie Qing, don’t cry. Her Lady has gone to visit Fourth Miss’s grave several days ago, and she is still sad now. If you cry, you’ll make her sad too. Her Lady can’t bear it!” Mo Yu interrupted her with a smile when she saw Auntie Qing taking out a handkerchief.
After hearing what she said, if Auntie Qing continued to cry, it would be a little pretentious. She put the handkerchief in the corner of her eyes while her tears had not yet flowed down. Her face was full of embarrassment.
Of course, Mo Xuetong did not come to see Auntie Qing cry. She said softly, “Auntie Qing, you don’t have to be sad. It is enough that Fourth Sister knows what you are thinking. She will not mind that you didn’t visit her grave personally. You’re Fourth Sister’s birth mother. Blood is thicker than water. She will not hate you.”
Auntie Qing’s hand, which was holding the handkerchief, froze. The corners of her eyes twitched subconsciously. Her face was a little paler than when she entered the room just now. Almost as soon as Mo Xuetong finished speaking, she immediately said, “Yes, yes, Qiong’er will not blame me. Qiong’er will not blame me.”
Mo Xuetong’s smile grew even gentler when she saw Auntie Qing’s expression. “When I went to visit Fourth Sister’s grave last time, her grave was covered with grass. It was heart-wrenching to see it. She was a second consort of King Yan’s Manor, but she ended up like this and died implicitly. Even though King Yan’s Manor admitted her, she had already died. I wonder if she is cold or resentful over there.”
“That’s right. There is a saying in my hometown—if someone were to die with a hint of hatred, he might stay in the world and look for those who tried to hurt him, no matter directly or indirectly. There is only a wave of hatred in the ferocious ghost’s heart. It is very fierce!” Mo Yu stated as well.
“No… It won’t happen. Qiong’er must have, have reincarnated long ago!” Auntie Qing stammered. The handkerchief in her hand was crumpled into a ball by her and one could not see what it was. Mo Xuetong’s gaze landed on her little finger that was twisting the handkerchief as it shivered slightly.
“Auntie Qing, if Fourth Sister had not entered King Yan’s Manor, she would definitely be the matriarch of a family given father’s current status. She would not have to bear the title of being a second consort and died so tragically. I sent someone to ask around and learned that when Fourth Sister died, she only said that she was full of hatred and she hated…” Mo Xuetong comforted her softly. However, what she said was very meaningful.
“Hey, I don’t know who Fourth Sister hated the most, She was obsessed with hatred. Fourth Sister… How does Fourth Sister get to reincarnation?”
“Yes… Yes, Qiong’er, she had been bullied badly.” Auntie Qing trembled as she said. As she immediately realized that something was wrong, she put on a painful expression on her face. “If I had known that Qiong’er had lived such a miserable life after she entered King Yan’s Manor, I, I would have protected her and let her come back, even at the cost of my life.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her tears fell down as she sobbed and claimed her regret!
Regret? Mo Xuetong quietly watched Auntie Qing’s performance. How did Mo Xueqiong enter King Yuyan’s Manor? Others might not know the reason, but how could Auntie Qing not know? The Emperor had personally ordered for Mo Xueqiong to marry Feng Yulei. It was a warning. A mere concubine wanted to get her back. She sounded so bold.
She was just playing in front of Mo Xuetong!
Mo Xuetong didn’t expect that she would encounter such a scene when she returned home occasionally. It was indeed unexpected!
“Auntie Qing, don’t cry. I heard that Eldest Young Master is close to you now. You will have someone to rely on. Let’s put the matter of Fourth Miss aside for now. Anyway, it’s not you who has aroused Fourth Miss’s hatred. Even if Fourth Miss comes at night, she won’t look for you,” Mo Yu comforted Auntie Qing.
“Yes, yes, yes, it has nothing to do with me.” Auntie Qing nodded as she wiped the tears on her face with a handkerchief. “My Lady, at the thought of Qiong’er, I… I feel sad for a moment…”
“It’s alright. What is it about Elder brother? Auntie Qing, are you very close to Elder brother now?” Mo Xuetong smiled and waved her hand. Then, she changed the topic to Mo Yufeng.
